*. It will be a white Sunday in Pennsylvania, which hosts both Conference Championships. I know this has been going of for a few years now….but what is up with the NFL playoffs and these night games?? I know it is for the enjoyment of the viewers on the East coast to have games at “chillin’ time” on Sunday afternoons….while the West coast people can sleep in a while longer before having to watch games that don’t involve them. But what was so wrong about the normal 1:00 and 4:00 games?? What also makes it soooooo odd is the fact that the NFL is so adamant of having Super Bowls in locales that are sunny and warm [or domed]….yet play the 2 NEXT most important games in wintry conditions and, now, late at night….just to get that temperature low enough to make it dramatic

*Why are all of the famous sports heterosexuals all of the sudden showing off their model girlfriends?? After we got a look at Jeff Garcia’s model squeeze…word is that Mike Piazza is marrying a playmate. Congrats Mike. Nothing says “I’m not gay” more than marrying a playmate.

*Why is it that I feel that if Houston doesn’t give Roger Clemons his $22M deal…..he’ll end up with the Rangers winning a Cy Young and getting them to a World Series?

*Can we officially stop feeling sorry for New England sports fans?? You have the NFL Champion 2 of the last 3 years [and maybe again this season]…the World Series Champion…the 16-time NBA Champion…the defending NCAA men’s and women’s hoops champions. Maybe we all need to give the microphone to the Cleveland fans and hear their cries.

*Speaking of the Red Sox….is the entire baseball world centered around those 19 or so times the Yankees and Red Sox play?? I mean….we get every game hyped like it is the ALCS….then we get them IN the ALCS. Now, we get the Yanks Randy Johnson against the Sox Curt Schilling….former Arizona teammates….battling on opening day. All of the other 28 teams can just go back into their holes because no one seems to care about them. How about another Giants-Angels World Series???

*Speaking of the Angels….apparently NO ONE like the idea of the team name being the “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim”. Easily the dumbest name ever. Anaheim is bent because they don’t want to be associated as LA’s skank. Los Angeles is bent because the Angels pay no taxes or anything to the city…so why should they get the advertising rights?? Agreed on both sides. Look. If there is one thing I’ve learned about those SoCal people is that Anaheim and LA don’t really like each other. It is a turf war [notice one team wears blue and the other wears red]. So throwing their names together is like me starting the Bloody Crips Gang.

*Speaking of LA….why is the NFL so insistent of putting an NFL team there no matter what? Both the Raiders and Rams left a decade ago…and no one really cares. So why try so hard to put one there? Belief was that the next franchise ready for relocation will be plopped there. Okay…fine. Colts? Well they got their stadium. Cardinals? New stadium. Chargers?? Hmmm. Vikings? Owner Red McCombs would rather move them to San Antonio.

*The NHL is on its death bed. Why does nobody care? Better yet…why doesn’t the NHL and the players realize that nobody cares? I know there are die hards out there….and I like hockey….but the NHL isn’t one of the “major 4 pro sports” anymore. I’d easily place NASCAR ahead of them. The NHL has no significant network deal….the most recognizable players are approaching 40.…the season is boring….you identify with absolutely no one on the ice….most of us have never even been ice skating before….etc. Here is the crux of the problem. Management is management. They want a dummy proof system to keep themselves in check. The players want to keep on making that madd jack even though it really isn’t there. Shorten the season….play more games on the weekend…get rid of the red line….scrape off some teams….glue the stick to their gloves…anything to get the NHL back, errrr, at least somewhat “back”.

*Speaking of NASCAR…they recently allowed hard-liquors as sponsors [even though they wanted no part of “Winston” in their points race]. Robby Gordon snatched up Jim Beam. Mr. Beam will join Fruit-of-the-Loom as Gordon’s main sponsors this season. Kurt Busch, the defending champ, has cut a deal with Jack Daniel’s. Add in the media darling, Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Budweiser car and you have the perfect catch. Fast cars…..heavy drinking!

*Speaking of money….did you know that the Texas Rangers now play at Ameriquest Field??? Not the Ballpark at Arlington no more. Or the Carolina Panthers played in Bank Of America Stadium….not Ericcson. The San Jose Sharks play at HP Pavilion. The Baltimore Ravens play and M&T Bank Stadium. The San Francisco 49ers play at Monster Park. Or how about the Tampa Bay Devil Rays playing in the St. Pete Times Dome. Huh? A dome named after a newspaper? Good grief!

*Speaking of stadiums…..did you know that PETA bought a brick in the “Adopt A Brick” program where you can purchase a brick that was used to Petco Park in San Diego…and put a nice little message on it. The brick read: “Break Open Your Cold Ones! Toast The Padres! Enjoy This Championship Organization!” The first letters of each word on the brick spell “Boycott Petco.”

*Speaking of boycotts….I’m boycotting high school basketball games. Riddick Bowe Jr. [son of the former heavyweight champ] was arrested for bringing a gun to a West Charlotte HS hoops game. And now OJ Simpson’s daughter, Sydney, was arrested after a HS hoops game in Florida for shouting at police. Ahhh….kids.